rfrt 







m^Mi 






^s&$Wy& 



An individual or corpora- 
tion with a good article to sell 
should put it before the world 
in some rational or effective 
way. They may have the nu- 
cleus of a fortune at their com- 
mand; yet, if they keep it to 
themselves long enough, and 
not let the world know about 
it, they will sooner or later 
be sold out by the sheriff. 



Wa 



EVOLUTION 



OF THE 



Horse Shoe 



HORSESHOEING WITHOUT NAILS 



vs. 



HORSESHOEING WITH NAILS 



BY 
J v 
H^ D. SHAIFFER 

fl 



PUBLISHED BY 

NATIONAL NAILLESS HORSE SHOE COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIA. 






-:l 



**v 



PREFACE. 

The inventor and patentee of the SHAIFFBR NAILLESS HORSBSHOE 
has spent many years of his life and a large fortune in perfecting a horseshoe 
that fastens rigidly to the hoof without using nails, preserving the hoof of the 
horse as nearly as possible in its normal condition, which will tend to improving 
the condition of the horse in general. 

He has studied the best authorities on the horse and its ills, dwelling chiefly 
on the anatomy of the foot ; having had all the facilities possible to assist him in 
his study, has been the owner and breeder of horses for many years, with the 
decided advantage of being the proprietor of several large horse-shoeing shops 
in many parts of the country, enabling him to study the many systems and modes 
of shoeing horses. In his extensive travels throughout the United States, South 
America and elsewhere, he noticed particularly the different ways many smiths 
shoe horses, and the result of close observation established the fact that the 
majority of horseshoers were ignorant of the anatomy of the foot of the horse f 
and nailed the shoe to it as if they were attaching an iron band to a post. 

The principal object of this pamphlet is to awaken the horse owners to the 
necessity of adopting a horseshoe that requires no nails to securely attach it to 
the hoof, selecting a shoeing smith who thoroughly understands the anatomy of 
the horse's foot and who will not cut away a live and growing substance, which 
is the principal cause of permanently crippling many valuable horses. 

If this pamphlet should awaken the horse owner to the fact that his horse 
is valuable property, a valuable machine wearing away by improper lubrication 
of the gearing (the foot by improper shoeing), then it has served its purpose and 
in the future the best and noblect of all animals will be given more consideration 
and provided with better footwear, freeing them from pain and insuring them 
longer life, then they will be more able to serve man's purpose. 

H. D. S. 

Date: 1912. 




H. D. SHAIFFER 



INVENTOR AND PATENTEE 

OF THE 

SHAIFFER NAILLESS HORSE SHOE 



The man who has a little mind 
Is always to his horse unkind; 
But he who to his horse is kind, 
Is sure to have a noble mind. 




Intelligence. 

Is 

Kindness 



Prof. O. C. Marsh found in the rocks of Fort Bridge, Wyo., 
the evidences of the first stages of the prehistoric horse, a little 
animal whose skeleton shows a height of eleven inches. Higher Antiquity 
types have been found in the region of the Great Plains. Q f Horse 



Professor Osborn, of Columbia University, says : "The his- 
tory of the horse in America is a subject in which we should feel 
considerable national pride, because it is highly probable that the 
direct ancestry of this noble animal came from America before 
the race became extinct, and that the horse is, therefore, one of 
the gifts of America to the world." 



On all the earth no animal is compelled to work like the horse. 
There is none his equal in help and usefulness. Practically he is 
man's exclusive slave, willingly performing excessive drudgery 
uncomplainingly yet, faithful to the end. His usefulness is un- 
limited. The millions of human beings are indebted to him for 
their actual substance and sustance. The whole world is indebted 
to him for expediting the physician to the bedside in birth and in 

5 



Humanity 

Horse's 

Debtor. 



sickness. The friends of the dead are his debtors, for he carries 
all to the grave and seemingly joins in the mourning for the de- 
parted. 



Without him we would be unable to speedily reach homes and 
buriness houses when they are in flames. He enables us to save 
much valuable goods which otherwise would be destroyed. It is 
he who cheerfully hauls all material to place for the erection of 
palaces, cottages and all large business structures scores of stories 
in height. It is he and he alone we are indebted to for the many 
miles of railroads which are built across continents, that carry 
grain to feed humanity. We are obliged to him for the cultiva- 
tion of both natural and artificial nature, such as parks and beau- 
tiful lawns, and also the tilling of the soil to grow the wherewithal 
to feed humanity. 



Horse 
Abused 
Shamefully 
By Inhuman 
Monsters. 



Nailing 

on Shoes 

Intended 

as 

Temporary 

Method 

Only. 



For this unselfish (beyond human labor), and almost beyond 
human devotion, this noble animal is actually repaid with diabol- 
ical cruelty and inhuman neglect by his caretakers. His treatment 
by the majority of his owners is inhuman, base and inexcusable, 
more so, because the poor, faithful, dumb animal has no means 
of defense, no voice to call out for succor, hence, no chance for 
immediate aid. He cheerfully goes at a terrific speed long dis- 
tance, almost beyond endurance for the amusement of his driver 
and often winning enormous sums in competitive racing for his 
owner. During special carnivals and eventful frolics of the spe- 
cial privileged classes, he often wears equipments, both in harness, 
covering and shoeing, which perhaps covers a painful sore or a 
lacerated body ; he is forced to pull excessive loads up steep hills, 
straining every fibre in his body to his utmost, at the same time 
being plied with whip by a monster in the guise of a human being, 
while barely able to perform the task required, suffering mutely 
the torture of pain untold, because he is dumb and cannot cry out, 
"Give me one drop of water to cool my burning tongue and remove 
my harness and shoes, for my pain is almost unendurable." Then 
at last, perhaps, his life is exacted that his carcass may be used 
as meat to satisfy the hunger of many. 



King Solomon admired the horse, and many poets and writers 
have celebrated him in romance, poetry and song. In fact, he 
is the only dumb animal that has ever received such encomium. 
We may not have the wisdom of Solomon, but we have sympathy, 
for sympathy like a bright light, prompts us to succor the human 
being and distressed animals as evolution produces the means. 
The primary means to lessen the torture of the horse that will 



help him in performing his task with less drudgery and pain; is 
to abolish altogether the cruel, method of driving nails into his 
hoofs. Nailing a shoe to the horse's hoof was intended only for 
a temporary method, as science had not suggested a line of im- 
provement and the brain of man was in an embryotic state, but 
the time has come when the majority of humanity will readily 
agree with the governments of nations, which are responsible fof 
the saying : "Driving nails into a horse's hoof is to be deplored as 
a necessary evil, and will be allowed to continue until evolution 
produces a mode to abolish it, then it will be branded as a crime 
and will be punishable according to laws to fit." IT IS NOW 
A CRIME. 



Some 2000 years B. C. horses and asses were shod b\ 
humane methods, the shoes were made from a pliable material, 
and even far into the seventeenth century A. D. the same system 
was adopted. The unscientific and barbarous system of attaching 
shoes to the horse's hoof with nails is a modern invention, as 
one can glean from the following accounts by ancient writers and 
historians. 



Xenophon, the celebrated Athenian historian and general, 371 
B. C, records in his work, "after defeating the Persians, who 
attempted to oppose him, that he captured many chariots and How the 
strong Sumpter-asses, heavily laden, all having been shod with Ancients 
fibre and spartium, ready to pursue the Greek army." Protected 

the Hoof. 

Aristotle in his writing, 346 B. C, mentions that "horses were 
shod with fibre or spartium." 



Pliny the Elder, 23 A. D., gives an account of "mules and 
asses being shod with spartium and ofttimes reinforced with raw- 
hide." 



Suetonuis and Dion Cassius, historians, both give an account 
how the licentious and debauched ruler of Rome, Emperor Nero, 
on his triumphant return from Greece in 62 A. D., all his sumpter 
mules were shod with silver plates, and all the mules of his 
morganatic wife, Pomposea Sabina (one of the most dissolute 
women of Imperial Rome) were shod with gold plates, held to the 
bottom of the mule's hoofs by rawhide made from the skin of 
her pet leopards. 



Tied Silver 
and Gold 
Plates to 
Mule's 
Hoofs. 



It is then reasonable to assume that this mode of shoeing 
was universal, in fact, not only in ancient Greece but in the entire 
old world. 



Romans 
Tied Iron 
Shoe to 
Horse's 
Hoof. 



It was the custom of the Romans to practice their chariot 
races in the early morning, about sunrise, starting from an eastern 
point and racing towards the West. The Roman rabble congre- 
gated on the eastern hills sometimes miles distant from the races 
and amused themselves by counting the number of reflections 
within a certain time which the sun made on the polished surface 
of the plates tied to the bottom of the horses' or mules' hoofs. 
By this means they calculated the speed made by the horses and 
made wagers on the presumable winner. 



It is evident that Homer witnessed many of these races from 
a far-off distance, as he mentions in his writing, "Brazen Footed 
Steeds." Not as some would have it in a metaphysical way, but 
horses and mules were actually shod with plates made of gold, 
silver, bronze or brass, tied to their hoofs around the pastern with 
thongs of bamhoo or raw-hide. 



Pollux also mentions "horses shod with fibre or leather." 



Arabs 
Used 
Woven 
Shoes. 



In support of the assertion that it was the universal method 
to tie some kind of a shoe to the hoofs of horses for protection 
to them, we have an account of the Arabs using a woven shoe from 
various materials, such as rawhide, willow twigs and bamboo. To 
them is attributed the saying : "No foot, no horse." To this same 
authority, we owe all that we most value in horses, speed, endur- 
ance, disposition and elegance of form. The thoroughbred, fast- 
est horse in the world in running, was evolved directly from 
Arabian blood, as also our trotters, though by a less direct route, 
plays an equally important part. 



Chinese 

and 

Japanese 

Used 

Basket 

Shoes. 



We find many writers who say : "It has always been the cus- 
tom of the Chinese and Japanese to use shoes on their horses' 
hoofs made of bamboo or rice straw, sometimes reinforced with 
raw-hide (being made similar to a basket on the early constructed 
hippo-sandal) and when going on a journey, they carried several 
shoes with them, so that when one was worn out, they applied an- 
other immediately." To these two nations, the horse was always 
considered a precious animal, and both nations up to this period 



refuse to imitate people of this and other countries to any great 
extent in attaching iron shoes to horses' feet by means of nails. 
In fact, they have always condemned our modern way of driving 
nails into the hoof. 



The Iceland peasant shoes his pony with sheep's horn. 



In the upper Oxus Valley, horseshoes are made of antlers 
of the mountain deer, fastened with horn pins. 



Horses in the Soudan wear socks of camel skin. 



It appears that the semi-barbarous people of the earth have Semi- 

always held the horse in high esteem worthy of his hire and need- Barbarous 

ful of protection and attached shoes to his hoofs humanely, for Tribes Set 

his protection and comfort. It seems they were first to set the Example to 

example of the proper and human method of fastening on shoes Civilized 

to horses' hoofs, but the civilized race, even in this advanced age, Race. 
refuses to continue the method, but have resorted to a cruel, 
unscientific one. 



The anatomy of the horse's foot was not thoroughly studied 
or understood until about the seventeenth century, during the 
reign of Pope Urban VIII, by Caesar Fiachi. To this Italian the 
credit is due of being the first inventor and manufacturer of iron 
horseshoes to be fastened to the hoof of the horse, requiring ten 
nails to firmly attach it. Although many improvements have been 
made along this specific line, the principle is the same, the only 
thing accomplished was reducing the number of nails to seven or 
eight, and materially reducing the weight of the shoe. Since that 
time many inventions have been made, and many ideas have been 
suggested of a horseshoe without nails. But as these novelties 
emanated from the brains of persons lacking in technical knowl- 
edge, much was found impractical and useless. Hence, the prac- 
tice of driving nails into the hoof has been continued solely be- 
cause all former inventions proposing to do away with nails have 
been wanting in practical value. 



When 
Nails 

Were First 
Used. 



"For want of a nail the shoe is 
lost; for want of a shoe the horse 
is lost ; for want of a horse the 
rider is lost." 



Nailing on 
Shoes is 
Crude as 
the Sandal 
and Shortens 
the Horse's 
Life. 




So runs the ancient saw we have 
all heard in our childhood. It 
serves to show the necessity of a 
horseshoe that has no nails and, 
therefore, cannot be lost by inop- 
portune casting. 



Men first wore shoes when they 
felt the need of some more ade- 
quate protection than was afforded 
by the toughened skin of the sole; 
and the horse was accorded a like 
protection, when through lack of 
it his utility was impaired, his health threatened and his life 
shortened. But the parallel runs no further ; for while with the 
man, the sandal, with its insufficient protective powers and its 
harsh thongs that injured the sensitive skin, gave way to a more 
rational and comfortable footgear, the shoe of the horse is still 
nailed to his feet in a clumsy and dangerous fashion, impeding 
his freedom of motion, causing lameness, discomfort, pain, misery 
and diseases of all kinds, as well as materially reducing the years 
of his usefulness and premature death by tetany. When a nail 
is driven into a horse's hoof, he suffers misery and pain that few 
people are capable of realizing, besides, it is the beginning of all 
deformities which render him practically useless, saps his vitality, 
reduces his energy, all which tend towards shortening his life. 
It is said that the average life of the horse is about twenty-five 
years, yet we have many accounts of horses living thirty and forty 
years. In many cases of old age in horses it has been found 
that nails have never been driven into their hoofs. A conclusion 
may be drawn from this statement. 



The ordinary person standing by seeing the operation of 
driving nails into the horse's hoof, can hardly fail to realize its 



10 



crudeness. They may not be immediately impressed with any 
suffering of the animal, but nevertheless, it is a most painful one, 
there being no proof nor even assurance against the bruising and 
the wounding of the inward foot, even though apparently well 
done in its crude way, the operation in the long run is bound to 
injuriously affect the structure and normal growth of the hoof. 
The application of a red-hot iron placed in contact with the hoof 
is absolutely criminal ; it is the most barbarous, uncalled-for and 
inhuman cruelty that can or ever will be perpetrated, and a smith 
performing such a diabolical operation should be ostracized to 
a colony of incurable lepers. No tongue or pen is capable of 
describing the pain the animal endures during this murderous 
operation. It causes the hoof to immediately become fragile and 
brittle, allowing all natural moisture to escape, and many diseases 
follow not only of the hoof, but of the entire body. For many 
years different methods have been adopted to protect the hoof 
in a more humane way, and by means of nails and of late years 
it is claimed almost anything is preferable than nailing the shoe 
to the hoof. 



Driving 

Nails 

Into a 

Horse's 

Hoof 

Painful. 



Nailing a rigid and inelastic metal shoe to a living, elastic 
and constantly growing hoof has long been deplored as an evil. 
Nearly forty years ago a writer on the subject said : "The ordi- 
nary system of horse-shoeing is crude and irrational, and is the 
main cause of most lameness and of the majority of falls in rid- 
ing and driving. Chief amongst its faults are the attempts to 
fit the foot to the shoe, instead of the shoe to the foot, and the 
wholesale cutting and rasping of the hoof and consequent injury 
to the several oarts of the foot." 



Authority 
Condemns 
Nailing 
on Shoes. 



Attempts have been repeatedly made to remedy the 
evil from a humanitarian as well as a business and lucrative 
reason. It is said a fortune awaited the lucky one solving 
the problem, far greater than those which resulted from 
the discovery of the mowing machine, the self-binder, gas- 
oline engines, windmills, barbed wire, telephone, automo- 
bils and hundreds of other modern innovations. All simple 
enough after some bright genius had invented them. 



Fortune 

Awaits 

Solver 

of 

Problem. 



ii 



Little 
Progress 
Made in 
the Art. 



Centuries ago, before man was willing to be humane, he 
conceived the idea of the crude and clumsy means of attaching a 
rigid and inelastic piece of metal to a living, elastic and constantly 
growing hoof. Since that time he has made very little progress 
toward the betterment of the method. His time has been taken 
up in the race to win position and prestige in business, war, poli- 
tics, religion and the social world. Hence he neglected to devise 
any improvements or simple means that would alleviate the misery 
and suffering of the indispensable beast of burden. 



Length of 
Time Shoes 
Should 
Remain On. 



If we must continue shoeing horses by driving nails into 
their hoofs, then the shoes ought never to be permitted to remain 
on longer than a period of ten to fourteen days at a time, never 
longer. When removed, they should remain off for a period at 
least from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, before replacing, 
allowing the horses' feet to rest, heal and freely expand. This 
would alleviate much of the suffering he endured before he is 
again tortured by driving nails into his hoofs. 



Number 

of 

Nails. 



During the reign of Edward III it required ten nails to at- 
tach a horseshoe to the hoof. To-day it requires six or seven, 
with the assistance of three tips, one on the front and one on 
each side of the shoe. The hoof cut away to receive them, which 
in itself is liable to ruin the hoof badly. 




12 



I love the hoss from, hoof to head, 
From head to hoof and tail to 
mane. 
I love the hoss, as I have said; 
From head to hoof and back 
again. 

James Whitcomb Riley. 



Love for 
the Horse. 



During the nineteenth century there have been many attempts 
made to invent a horseshoe that could be fastened to the hoof 
without driving' nails into it. It is surprising, however, that up 
to this time these efforts have failed to establish a practical, easy 
method of attaching a practical shoe to the hoof. Not until the 
twentieth century were any of these attempts productive of a 
practical, much-needed and beneficial horseshoe. There are rea- 
sons for this, as humanity is progressing onward to a better plane 
of condition and realizes that the horse is deteriorating, due to 
a lack of interest in his welfare, comforts and requirements, and 
the index on the dial of time presages his ultimate nonentity, 
unless something is done quickly to stop or prevent the diseases 
which are fast deciminating him. These conditions can only be 
attained by minimizing or abolishing entirely the evil of driving 
nails into its hoof. The man who owns a horse should realize 
its value and protect it from inhuman cruelty and ignorant drivers 
besides, provide for it that which it cannot provide for itself. The 
intelligent man or even the man with ordinary intelligence, who 
neglects or refuses to supply the horse with that which is bene- 
ficial to its proper existence, ought to be branded as cowardly and 
inhuman, and placed below the savage. 



Many 
Failed, 
Due to 
Lack of 
Interest 



Few horse-men or horse-lovers realize the untold agony that 
the horse suffers, contracted by the improper mode of shoeing. jj orse 
It is staggering the gigantic amount of work the horse is com- 
pelled to perform (yet impaired in health) on account of the Uwners 
abnormalities of the hoofs which many owners invariably do not Ignorant 
understand but little of. Were they awakened to these facts, it of Treatment 
might be the means of actuating them to a humane method of f 
shoeing and a proper method of treatment so as to relieve the Their 
horse of its continual suffering, if not obviating it entirely. Most -u- orses 
every owner of a horse means well, but are ignorantly careless, 
and invariably unacquainted with the way in which most of their 
drivers treat their horses. Besides ; they do not know that the 
majority of smiths who shoe their horses are cruel, bloody 
butchers, cutting, burning and rasping away a live hoof until the 



poor dumb animal is in actual distress. It might be well if the 
owners would some time attend to the shoeing of the horses them- 
selves, giving orders that no hot iron be applied to the hoof, or 
the rasping away of the outside wall, or allow any of the sole to 
he cut away, or the frog to be pared in any manner whatever. 
This would follow the strict orders and establish rules of the 
United States Government, to all horseshoers employed by them 



Nature has provided a cushion on the bottom of the coffin 
bone to assist in breaking the jar when a horse is trotting or run- 
ning, or stepping on any hard substance that centralizes itself on 
the middle of the hoof. Surrounding these bones is what we call 
the lainar, connected with the Katofalous or horny external hoof. 
This external hoof is porous and absorbs the moisture of the air, 
especially the oxygen which feeds it and passes on into the inter- 
nal foot. This external hoof is dove-tailed, as it were, with a cor- 
responding dove-tail of lines up and down, making a thorough con- 
nection with the laminar. One depends upon the other. Like the 
foundation of a large building, if you take a few bricks away 
here and there from the base of the structure, the walls may at any 
moment topple over. Just so with the horse's hoof. If you file 
the outside of the hoof, or cut it away in any unnatural manner, 
you cause the moisture to escape, prevent the taking in of the 
oxygen of the air, inflammation follows, nature ceases to work, 
the foot becomes dry, feverish and inflamed, and the result is the 
same as when there is no rain or dew upon the grass — it is bound 
to dry up. 



The 
Hoof a 
Living 
Organism. 



The horny substance at the bottom of the hoof should be 
leveled so as to receive the. shoe and no more, whether it be nailed 
on or attached without nails, as the horse's hoof is a living organ- 
ism, not a dead, inexpansive horn. It grows and expands, and 
the shoe should be removed every two or three weeks. Speaking 
of the hoof — I mean the horny substance surrounding the inward 
foot — that is insensitive to a degree, yet it is the part which the 
smith has most to do with, and which he should not cut away. 
The foot inside is composed of the coffin navicular and lower 
pastern, three in number, surrounded as it were with myriads of 
fibres similar to the roots of a rubber plant. Whenever the horny 
substance is cut away at the toe, sides or heel, the sensitive foot 
becomes inflamed and pain ensues. 



The Foot 
Explained. 



The hock joint corresponds to the human ankle, the point 
of the hock being the heel bone. In front of the joint within 
the horny covering of the hoof is the coffin bone, the navicular 



14 



and the cornet bone. Above and 
outside of the hoof is the longer 
pastern bone and the two small 
sessamoid bones at the back of 
the fetlock. Next above is the 
cannon bone and two small splint 
bones. The same are found in 
the hind feet, but have different 
names. The principal bones to 
be dealt with are the cornet, the 
navicular and the coffin, and the 
joints they form in contacting 
with one another. These joints 
must all move freely, perfectly 
smoth in their action and unin- 
terfered with by surrounding tis- 
sues or abnormal conditions. 
The moisture necessary to keep 
the foot in a healthy condition is 
what we call joint oil or "syn- 
ovia," secreted by . relative membranes. The myriads of blood 
vessels which resemble the roots of a rubber plant are continually 
active, bringing new and taking away used blood. These parts 
are all alive and capable of feeling. In fact, in a great degree 
sensitive. After nails are once driven into the hoof, these parts 
become inflamed and the foot becomes like a living fire and the 
pain causes the horse to suffer untold agony. 




What to the ordinary observer appears to be a solid sub- 
stance is in reality a thin, porous shell. It matters not what kind 
of a shoe you put on your horse's foot, if nails are used to fasten 
it on, you cannot prevent the foot from losing joint oil, and all 
other natural moisture will escape through the incision made by 
the nail. This is also true when the rasp is applied to the out- 
side of the hoof. When the moisture escapes the foot becomes 
dry, hard and brittle. It is then subject to quarter cracks and 
dry rot. The hard frog becomes sore, bruised and contracted, 
and corns inevitably result. In this condition the hoof is prac- 
tically dead, yet the inner foot diseased and the horse always in 
great pain. The frog of the foot should never be cut away, as 
it sheds off about twice a year. The sole sheds in like manner, 
and ought never to be touched with a knife, but allow to slough 
away naturally. Without a sound hoof you can have no good 
horse, in spite of all other advantages. It should be allowed free- 
dom and expansion, so that circulation and moisture is not ar- 
rested, thereby permitting the hoof to retain its natural condition. 

Most every person will admit that the driving of nails into 
the hoof of the horse is frequently the cause of crippling many 



Hoof 
Sheds 
No Knife 
Should Be 
Used. 



15 



Driving 
Nails Into 
the Hoof 
Contrary 
to Nature. 



valuable animals. Horses' hoofs are no more alike than the 
human feet are alike. In some hoofs the laminar lies closer to 
the surface than in others, hence there is no way of ascertaining 
on the living horse the exact thickness of the horny shell of the 
hoof so as to guide the smith in his driving nails into it. Then 
since no exact knowledge is possible, the most (so-called) expert 
horseshoer may drive a nail into the "quick" and permanently 
ruin the horse. Nature never intended that nails should be 
driven into the horse's hoofs any more than they should be driven 
into the human fingers and toes ; the tissue is the same, and should 
have the same treatment, such as trimming off at different inter- 
vals of about two or three weeks apart and no more. A horse's 
hoof in its natural condition is tough, pliable and elastic, and will 
bend to a certain extent, but will not break. It has a rich ground 
or slate color in appearance, a sure indication of a healthy, grow- 
ing condition. It is entirely .wrong to burn and file any 
portion of the hoof away as shown in Figure 14. Any invention 
that prevents this wrong must be of immense value. 



Diseases 
Traced to 
Shoeing. 



Authority on the subject of horseshoeing by driving nails 
into their hoof says : "Ninety per cent, of the diseases of the 
horse are traceable to shoeing. There are more horses lame 
through this cause than from all other causes combined. Driving 
a nail into the hoof involves the danger of it running into or 
pressing the sensitive part of the foot every time one is driven. 
Another fault that our present system involves is cramping the 
hoof so that it cannot expand naturally and grow to its normal 
shape. Fifty per cent, of our horses suffer from contracted hoofs 
from this cause alone. When we come to consider the danger 
of the system as at present practiced, you wonder that it has lasted 
so long." 



Science 
of Horse- 
shoeing 
Neglected. 



Man is continually searching for and studying some new 
science, and yet we wonder why he has passed by and never 
stopped to consider the much neglected science of horse-shoeing. 
Is it because it is a science that requires more skill than any of 
the others ? A philosopher once said : "For a man to be happy 
there were just two things for him to do : first, to love God ; sec- 
ond, to satisfy his necessities." If we would make the horse con- 
tented in his kingdom, there are just two things we should do: 
first, feed him well ; and next, shoe him with NAILLBSS shoes, 
which is the only proper way. 



When the great Creator saw fit to place the horse here to 
assist man in making use of the ground, to facilitate commercial 

16 



industry, to shift the laborious work from man's shoulder to that 
of the beast, and also as a means of pleasure to man, He did not 
intend that the horses' feet should be protected from injury BY 
THE NAILING OF AN IRON TO HIS HOOF, OR THE AT- 
TACHING OF ANY DEVICE BY MEANS OF NAILS. If 
He had, He would have surely constructed the horse's hoof in 
such a manner so as to receive the nails without injury, or pain, 
or misery, or any other impairment of health. 



Divine 
Creator 
Made No 
Mistake. 



All things were created right. There is nothing in 
Nature which shows that the Divine Creator made a mis- 
take in its creation or construction. When deformity is 
found in Nature, we can rest assured that the cause is 
due to man's ignorance, failure or neglect. Therefore 
there is no common sense argument which can be offered 
to prove that driving nails into the hoof of the horse does 
not injure his feet and impair his health. 



This is the age of progress, in which intelligence is governing 
our actions and deeds. To imitate the methods of the savage 
is a sign of ignorance and should be tagged as a vile disease. 
Laws are made defining criminal conditions, still there is much 
space to circumscribe. Every intelligent man trusts that the day 
is not far distant when the Legislatures of the several States will 
enact laws making it a crime to drive nails into the hoof of a 
horse. 



Ignorance 
a Vile 
Disease. 
Should Be 
Classed 
Criminal. 



An eminent veterinarian asserts that "fully 90 per cent, of 
diseases to which horseflesh is heir, can be traced to the driving 
of nails into the hoof." The question that confronts the horse 
owner of the present day is, "How are they to combat the grow- 
ing evils of driving nails into horses' hoofs?" The answer is: 
By shoeing the horse with the up-to-date method, with NAIL- 
LESS HORSESHOES 



Cause of 
Ninety Per 
Cent, of 
Diseases. 



It has been almost universally believed that a Nailless Horse- 
shoe was an ignis fatuus, yet for the last fifty years much money 
and ingenuity has been expended in the endeavor to invent a 
practical and humane one. Many reasons were advanced why it 



Inventors 
Afraid to 
Bind the 
Hoof. 



could not be accomplished. One reason was that there were al- 
most as many sizes and shapes of hoofs as there are horses, 
which is in a sense true. Another reason was on account of hoof 
expansion, which is absolutely erroneous — the hoof only expands 
at the hard and soft frog, rearward and downward. It was also 
claimed that any material binding on the hoof would cause fric- 
tion and create inflammation and subsequent contracted heel. But 
no experiments had been made to determine the extent of pres- 
sure to prove the claim and for these reasons and many others, 
inventors were afraid to bind the hoof in the entire. 



Twentieth 
Century 
Nailless 
Shoe. 



Nailing shoes to the horse's hoof was the only method we 
knew until the Twentieth Century, when H. D. Shaiffer, of Phil- 
adelphia, Pa., after some twentv years of almost constant experi- 
ment and study, perfected a PRACTICAL, BPFICIBNT, 
ECONOMICAL and HUMANE Nailless Horseshoe and suc- 
ceeded in obtaining letter patents in the United States and the 
foreign countries on the only PERFECT NAILLESS HORSE- 
SHOE that was ever put in iron. Prior to this, all other efforts 
to perfect a practical one had been abortive. The shoe has long 
ago passed the domain of experiment and has been tested under 
every conceivable, practical condition and has responded to every 
test and is going into rapidly increased use. Its success is due 
entirely to the fact that the inventor has made it practically a 
life study, following on lines of the same, principle as the shoe 
worn by man. The Nailless Shoe is so constructed that it does 
not cramp or bind the hoof in any way. It serves only as a mat- 
rix, a protective covering, permitting the hoof to expand natur- 
ally while the horse is forced to travel over all kinds of artificial 
roads, in dangerous and rocky places. It is made entirely on 
scientific principles to conform to any hoof. It enables the horse 
to perform his duty better, free from torture, inconvenience and 
disease and will add to his years of service and usefulness, and 
besides, it obviates all former disadvantages of the nail-on-shoe. 



Adjusting 
the 

Nailless 
to Hoof. 



As the hoof enters the shoe, the flanges are then conformed 
to the hoof in all its natural lines, bends and recesses, and when 
locked in front and in the rear, it is rigid on the hoof. The inside 
base or flange is exactly slanted as the under part of the horse's 
hoof. It has the decided advantage when the horse is not work- 
entire, and while rigidly on the hoof allows natural expansion. It 
is so simple that anyone can attach it in almost a moment's time, 
in any place and under almost any circumstance without the use 
of any special tools, and without burning or cutting away the 
hoof and performs the same function as the upper flange in the 
ing, the shoes may be removed as easily as man can remove his 



own when his dav's work is done. Its perfect practicability and 
utility cannot be controverted and the day is not far distant when 
every horse in this country will be wearing Nailless Horseshoes. 
Then, and only then, will the majority of horse owners realize 
that the life of a horse is lengthened and his usefulness greatly 
increased. 



The 
Nailless 



The accompanying illustrations show plainer than words 
what an entirely new idea the Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoe is. So 
simple and practical, the wonder is that it was not thought of 
before. Every owner of a horse — every man who knows any- 
thing about a horse — will at once see the enormous advantage it 
has over the crude and ancient nail-to-the-hoof-shoe. All prick- a 
ing and burning is absolutely obviated, which is impossible with Blessing. 
the ordinary shoe when nailed to the hoof. Its hold is much 
firmer than under the old system, and can be adjusted so as to 
bring quarter cracks and wire cuts together and hold them firm 
for an indefinite period until granulation takes place, without the 
least detriment to the hoof or pain to the horse. The pressure is 
transverse, hence, the lateral cartilage and planter cushion are 
not affected thereby. It is a sure cure for contracted hoofs — a 
perfect foot-leveler. It does not burn the foot. It keeps the foot 
cool. It preserves the hoof and protects it from damage. A 
horse can attain greater speed if shod with this Nailless Horse- 
shoe. It has an automatic expansion. Lastly, it is 'strong and 
durable. A great blessing and an absolute necessity. 



After a few months' wearing of the Shaiffer Nailless Horse- 
shoe, the hard, brittle, shriveled-up hoof of a horse will take on 
the natural conditions. All the pores of the outward shell will 
breathe naturally and the hoof will be tough and elastic. The 
once old drone of a horse will appear to have a new life, and it 
will become possible and easy to keep him in a good physical 
condition. Stones cannot be wedged in the frog, nor can snow 
and clay ball. The shoes can be removed any minute in the day 
or night without going miles to a shoeing shop, and the horse 
turned out on the paddock bare-foot, benefiting his feet and al- 
lowing them to rest. The shoe is neat in appearance and pre- 
serves the symmetry of limb. It will permit two or three weeks' 
growth of the hoof before its removal is required, but the inven- 
tor advocates its removal while the horse is standing in the stable 
or when not in use. 



When to 
Remove the 
Nailless. 



It will enable the horse to step out more freely and safely. 
Thus his speed, usefulness and comfort are increased. Experi- 

19 



Diseases 
Avoided. 



ence has proven (though costing but a trifle more than the ordi- 
nary shoe) it wears considerably longer, thus reducing the final 
cost. 



Horse Will 

Have 

Confidence. 



The Nailless Shoe can be fitted to any normal or abnormal 
hoof, no matter whether affected with hoof rot, split hoofs, quar- 
ter cracks or corns, without trimming the foot in any way, ex- 
cept to level the over-growth shell around the bottom of the hoof. 
The hoof is allowed its natural expansion and contraction. Hence, 
all diseases caused by the old mode of shoeing are avoided. 

A horse wearing this Nailless Shoe will have more confi- 
dence in its own ability to trot, run or jump, owing to the cer- 
tainty of its having a better footing. 



Come to 
Stay. 



Above are but a few of its many advantages. There 
are a number of scientific reasons which only a veterina- 
rian can appreciate. The Nailless Shoe viewed from 
every point presents such a preponderance of superiority 
over the old kind, that it is bound eventually to super- 
sede the old style nailed-to-the-hoof shoe altogether. The 
simplicity of the arrangement leaves nothing to be de- 
sired and should recommend it for universal adoption. 




The cut shows the SHAIFFBR 
NAILLESS HORSESHOE on the hoof 
and the adjusting slot in rear. 



Figure 2 shows the top flange with 
the screws in place in the front and rear 



lugs ; it also shows the toe 
calks inserted in the dove- 
tail on one side, with the 
dove-tailed locking swivel 
riveted to the toe calk. 
The screws at rear, as 
shown, are inserted down 
through the upper part of 




Fig. 2. 



20 



the shoe into the heel calk ; the two extending arms at the rear are 
adjusting guides ; the left one has a rivet passing through it into 

the right extension, which regu- 
lates the pressure by screwing the 
long screw into the two rear ex- 
tending lugs. 

In drawing the shoe together 
in the rear, it glides upward ; 
neither the upper nor lower 
flanges bind or exert any pressure 
on the rear sides of hoof, the 
shoe serving as a rest for the 
horse's hoof and allows expan- 
sion and contraction. 

Figure 3 shows the bottom 
of the shoe with the toe and heel 
calks in place and the shoe drawn 
together partly. It also shows 
the under flange, which conforms 
to the convex surface of the hoof. 

The inside of the base of shoe is convex. Snow and mud cannot 

ball, as with the ordinary nailed-on shoe. 




Figure 4 shows the heel calks, made of 
steel, sharp for winter use. The dove-tail to 
be inserted into recess at rear end of shoe, 
shown in Figure 3. 




Fig. 4. 




Fig. 5. 



Figure 5 shows the toe calks with 
dove-tailed swivels in centre; these are 
for the purpose of allowing the shoe to 
extend and take up in the rear, being 
made to correspond with all styles 
of heel calks. The calks are made sharp 
and flat. For trotting and road horses 
the flat steel calks or plates which are almost 
flush with the base of the shoe, are needed 
only. These wear very slowly. For use in 
winter, calks are sharp and made of steel, 
and will last from three to four weeks before 
new ones are needed. Instead of paying $2 
or $3 for new shoes, as with the nailed-on 
shoe, it is only necessary to remove the calks 
and insert others costing but a trifle. Steel 



2C 



calks and plates are used in the aluminum shoe. 



Advantages 
of Knife 
Edge Calks. 



When the ground becomes slippery or icy, the knife-edged 
steel calks can be inserted in a few minutes. When they are 
worn down they can be replaced, their cost being but a trifle and 
the annoyance of waiting five or six hours at the horseshoeing 
shop to have shoes sharpened and reset is done away with. 



Figure 6 shows the plate used on the 
Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoes, both for trot- 
ting and road horses. On the trotting shoes 
the plates are thinner than those on the work- 
ing horse's shoes. The hole in the centre is 
where the screw passes down through the 
rear end of the shoe, as explained in Fig- 
ure 2. 




Fig. 6. 



There is a corresponding dove-tail in the rear of the shoe, 
permitting the heel calks to be inserted easily. 



Moderate 
Pressure 
on the 
Sole Good. 




Fig. 7. 

ence has shown 

serve the purpose intended. 



Figures 7 and 8 show the screws used 
in the rear and front of the Shaiffer Nail- 
less Horseshoe, with the holes in the head 
for the purpose of inserting a nail to 
tighten or untighten the screw and also to 
insert a cotter pin, to prevent the screw 
from turning or becoming loose. The 
screws are made from Bessemere steel, 
although these screws look small, experi- 
that they 




One great fault of the ^ 
nailed-on shoe is, that it has 
from 14 to 18 inches of bear- 
ing surface, yet the hoof 
rests on about 2.y 2 to 3^2 
inches of surface only, as the Fl g- 8 - 

shoe is made to slope down- 
wards toward the center from about 3-16 of an inch from the top 
outward edge. It is not made to conform to the concave nature 
of the hoof. The Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoe is so constructed 



22 



that it permits the wall of the hoof to rest on the shoe as also 
the sole, almost equalizing the pressure or tread. A moderate 
pressure on the sole of the hoof is good, as it follows the natural 
intent. 



If you are the owner of a valuable horse, it is necessary to 
see that proper care is taken of his feet. It is impossible to Vital 
conceive the enormous advantage gained by this Nailless Shoe. Question. 
The vital question of importance to all horse owners is, "what 
shall I do to lighten the burden of my horses and make life 
apparently an easy one for them?" Answer: Stop driving nails 
into their hoofs, as the most vital and important part of the 
horse is his feet. Of all beasts in the animal kingdom, that which 
is most valuable to man is the horse, he costs money, and big 
money, so it behooves every owner to use every advantage to 
preserve its hoofs as natural as possible. 

Advantages 

1. It can be taken off every time a horse is put into the stable or , .. 

pasture allowing his feet to rest. 



2. It does away with cutting, rasping and burning. 

3. It permits natural expansion and contraction of the foot. 



U. It is cheaper, as it wears longer, as it is only necessary to re- 
new the calks every four to six weeks, the shoe itself lasting indefi- 
nitely if kept equipped with calks. 



5. Quarter cracks and wire cuts can be held in place permitting 
granulation and a cure effected. 



6. Flat or sharp calks may be inserted when needed. 

7. Snow cannot ball on the foot. With sharp calks a horse can 
easily pull a load on icy ground. 



8. It is the only humane shoe ever invented. The horse can travel 
with greater ease. It also increases knee action. 

9. A burning sensation to the hoof of the horse is the common 
result from the ordinary method of nailing shoes to the hoof due en- 
tirely to holding the shoe against the lower surface of the hoof in a 

23 



Nailless 
Reviewed. 



rigid manner. Such a condition is avoided when the horse wears the 
Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoe, which allows free expansion and contrac- 
tion of the hoof while in this shoe, hence producing a circulation of air 
between the shoe and the bottom of the hoof, assuring the keeping of 
the foot cool and in a good condition. 



No Normal 

Size 

Hoofs. 



There are only a- few horses today having normal size hoofs, 
the reason is plain, as the majority of horseshoers fit the hoof to 
the shoe, necessarily cutting away part of the hoof every time 
they nail on a shoe. It is one of the greatest injuries that could 
be done to the hoof, as the hoof above the base line should never 
be touched with a knife or a rasp, as it opens the pores of the 
horny substance and allows the moisture to escape, which is nec- 
essary to keep the hoof in a healthy condition. It is one of the 
causes of the foot becoming dry, hard and contracted. 



It is also absolutely wrong to apply grease to the horse's 
hoof, as it closes the pores and pre- 
vents the oxygen of the air from 

Grease is feeding the horny substance or hoof 

an Injury, and thereby arrest the growth of the 
hoof. 



The following cuts will enable 
one to see at a glance a few of the 
damages done by nailing the shoe to 
the hoof. 



Figure 9 shows a badly contract- 
ed foot, caused by the neglect or wil- 
ful ignorance of the horse owner, in 
allowing the shoe to remain on the 
hoof for several weeks before re- 
moving it, when the shoe should have 
been removed every two or three 
weeks. 




Fig. 9. 



Figure 10 shows the bold 
instrument of torture to the 
horse. 



Fig. 10. 



24 




Pig. 11. 



Figure n shows one of the many victims of the damaging 
nails, thousands of them are scattered throughout the land. This 
condition is due from the starting point, that of driving nails 
into a live and growing hoof by unskilled horseshoers. This pic- 
ture is deserving of deep thought by the horse owners of this 
country. It is not an unusual sight, but unfortunately few peo- 
ple stop to examine and inquire into the reason of such a condi- 
tion of the poor, miserable horse when seen in this condition, 
whether this is through lack of humane principle or sympathy is 
not determined. 



No man need ever feel that his time and intellect is 
wasted in studying and investigating modern improve- 
ments for the use of any dumb animal that Nature has 
given for his use. 



It is safe to predict that in the very near future the Humane So- 
cieties throughout the land will dwell largely on the subject of nailing 
shoes to the horse's hoof, and the result will be that Legislatures will 
be asked to pass a law compelling the adoption of Nailless Horseshoes. 



25 



There are entirely too many cruelties and injuries caused by the pres- 
ent defect of horseshoeing, and they are pretty well understood by the 
general public and do not require a lengthy argument at this time. 



Many 

Horseshoers 

Incompetent. 




Figure 12 shows a horse's 
hoof with a shoe nailed on. 
The part cut away is for the 
purpose of showing the impos- 
sibility of nailing a shoe to the 
hoof of a horse without injury 
to the laminar and causing in- 
flammation and pain. 



Experience in the past 
warrants the assertion that out 
of every 100 horseshoers not 
over ten know how and where 
to drive a nail into the horse's 
hoof that the least injury 
might result and certainly no 
two of the remaining ten shoe 
horses alike or even understand the anatomy of the foot. There 
is no subject of more importance to the horseowner than that of 
horseshoeing. A little serious thought will awaken them out of 
their slumber and then they will wonder why the driving of nails 
into the horse's hoof has continued so long. If not on a basis of 
humanity, then surely on a basis of business. If horses were 
shod humanely two thousand years before the Christian era with 
Nailless Horseshoes, as described in the proceedings of this 
pamphlet, and in fact covering a period of over three thousand 
years, why have the modern people changed to a worse method 
and kept it up so long? 



Fig. 12. 



Nj i\lew 
Idea. 



It is said that there is nothing new under the sun and the 
Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoe is no new idea practically. The prin- 
ciple is the same as used by the ancients, only they made theirs 
from a different material. If a Nailless Shoe suited the purpose 
for over three thousand years, why would it not suit the purpose 
now? 



There are many diseases of the hoof which are the result of 
driving nails into it. Many are vital and for which no reason is 



26 



given and especially is this true of navicular disease, which is 
caused by the shoe remaining on the hoof for a longer period 
than from two or three weeks, holding the foot in a rigid posi- 
tion. The nail passing through the wall of the foot, pressing on 
the laminar tissue, prevents natural circulation and tends to con- 
tract the coffin bone, thereby producing an unnatural pressure on 
the navicular or pivot bone in the horse's hoof, which is the cen- 
ter of life to the horse's foot. The tendons are concentrated here, 
and not a few are extremely delicate, so that an unnatural pres- 
sure on the laminar will inflame the sockets and cause various 
forms of disease, the primary being navicular disease of the hoof. 
This danger is entirely avoided by the use of the Shaiffer Nail- 
less Horseshoe. 



There is still another cause of navicular disease — an excess 
of moisture. A horse standing in a stable where it is always wet 
(the hard and soft frog are elastic and porous) the ammonia and 
nitre eats rapidly its way into the foot, corroding the lateral 
cartilage, causing the entire sole of the base of the foot to become 
tender, and when the horse steps on any hard substance, the 
pressure is directly on the navicular-coffin and excites inflamma- 
tion, thereby producing navicular disease. It can readily be seen 
that the two forerunners of navicular disease are effected in two 
ways — one by unnatural pressure causing dryness and inflamma- 
tion, the other by tearing away the main pillow of support and 
causing an unnatural expansion and abnormal foot, which also 
terminates in navicular disease of the hoof. 



One Cause 
of 

Navicular 
Disease. 




Fig. 13. 



Figure 13 shows a 
sectional view of the wall 
of the hoof split and 
broken away, which was 
caused by the constant re- 
shoeing and the driving of 
nails. There is no founda- 
tion left for a nail to be 
driven into the hoof to 
hold on the shoe, hence a 
horse with a hoof like the 
one in Figure 13 would be 
useless for an indefinite 
period or perhaps perma- 
nently. 



The Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoe can readily be put on the 
27 




A Veteri- 
narian Should 
Be a Qualified 
Horse Shoer. 



In Wild 
State 
Horse is 
Hardy. 



hoof shown in Figure 13 and it will protect the broken part of 
the hoof while a new growth is taking place and grows to its 
proper shape. It will protect the lower outward surface from 
coming in contact with stones and other objects while the horse 
is walking or trotting. 

Fig. 14 shows an improper 
shaped hoof, the way the major- 
ity of horseshoers rasp away the 
hoof so as to conform to the 
shoe that they have nailed on. 
It is noticeable that the horse is 
deprived of a solid hoof and not 
having enough of hoof to pro- 
tect the inward foot he necessar- 
ily has not foundation. This is 
a form of cruelty by itself. 
Common sense should teach any 
human being that this cutting 
away of the hoof is wrong and 
the (so-called) horseshoer who 
does it (and they are many) 
should be put out of business by 
law. 
Fig. 14. 

A veterinarian may know the 

formation of the foot of the 
equine, but he can have no direct knowledge of how to place a 
shoe or drive a nail unless he has had ample practice. It would 
be ridiculous for him to attempt to draft a reason for a disease 
of the hoof or foot without first having a practical knowledge of 
shoeing. 

Figure 15 shows a natural 
shaped hoof, a condition which 
no horseshoer should change un- 
der any circumstances. What is 
natural is right, and when Nature 
is destroyed in the least, deform- 
ity results or sickness ensues and 
many diseases follow. 

The horse is by nature a hardy 
animal, and sickness is seldom, if 
ever, known in his wild condi- 
tion. Diseases of the hoof are 
rare. The writer has never seen 
any disease of the foot, {except 
the over-growth of the hoof), in 
the numerous wild horses caught 
and examined by him in Color- 
ado, Texas and South America. 

28 




Fig. 15. 



He has not limited himself to these, but has taken particular pains 
to examine horses, ranging in age from tzvo to ten years, in sev- 
eral parts of various States of the Union, that have never worn 
e shoe, and found but few of them had seldom, if ever been sick. 

Prominent patent authority have given satisfactory opinions 
as to the novelty and validity of the patents. Mr. Shaiffer has 
studied horseshoeing from a scientific as well as mechanical stand- 
point. He has been the proprietor of several smith shops and 
devoted his spare time in studying the horse and its foot, and is 
considered to be one of the most expert scientific horseshoers of 
the dav. 



Opinion of 
Prominent 
Authority. 



The SHAIFFER NAILLBSS SHOE, after the most 
severe and exhaustive trials, extending over a period of 
several years, has been pronounced by eminent veterinary 
and other competent authorities to be the safest, most 
durable, neatest and most humane shoe ever devised for 
the horse, and that the shoes can be adapted to every kind 
and shape of the horse's hoof, and that it is the first 
NAILLESS HORSESHOE invented that is practical. It 
requires no skill to put them on or take them off. making 
it possible to remove shoes at night or whenever desired. 



Figure 17, showing an oval piece of leather or rubber, com- 
monly called a horseshoe pad, but its proper name is a poulticing 
or suction pad, an air excluder, a sweating pad, an uncalled-for 
cruelty to the horse. A pad which covers the entire sole of a 
horse's hoof is unscientific, injurious, unhealthy. It is only used 
because of its profitableness to the 
manufacturer and horseshoer. It 
is a well-known scientific fact that 
when a person wears rubber boots 
the air is excluded from the foot 
and an excessive perspiration takes 
place, weakening the system, and 
if allowed to remain on for several 
days, the feet become tender, and 
it is almost impossible to walk with- 
out agony. The same conditions 
follow when a horse is shod with 
rubber pads. They exclude the oxy- 
gen of the air that Nature intended 

should penetrate the sole through Fig. 17. 

the pores to keep the hoof tough, 

29 




The Nailless 

Giving 

Satisfaction. 



pliable and healthy, but if the air is excluded from the foot by 
means of pads or otherwise, the foot becomes tender and inflamed 
and will continue so until the pads are removed, and then owing 
to the tender condition of the hoof it is almost impossible for the 
horse to walk even on dirt or any soft substance for several days, 
until the foot becomes hardened through the process of Nature. 
It is only a matter of a short time when horse-owners will realize 
the important deception that pads prevent a horse from slipping 
and protect his foot from injury, and then the Cruelty will step 
in and make it a crime to attach pads covering the entire sole of 
the horse's hoof. 



The SHAIFFER NAILLBSS HORSESHOE requires no 
pad covering the entire sole of the hoof. Take every point in 
consideration of the present mode of shoeing horses, there is not 
one point good, every one is decidedly bad ; while every point of 
a NAILLBSS HORSESHOE is advantageously good. 



By the old method of nailing on shoes, a horse that is used 
continually on hard roads should be shod about every two weeks, 
costing on the average about $4.20 per month. 



A set of the SHAIFFER NAILLBSS HORSESHOES 

Nailless wear almost indefinitely, because the wearing part — the toe and 

Wears heel calks — can be replaced so easily, and at such a trifling cost as 

Long Time. to reduce shoeing bills at least 90 per cent. The average cost of 

toe and heel calks is about 50 cents a set for four shoes, and with 

ordinary wear these will last from a month to six weeks, perhaps 

longer. 



A Saving 
*o Farmers. 



Farmers in particular will appreciate the matter of saving 
in their shoeing bills. A horse is better without shoes for work 
in the field or on loose ground. He needs shoes only on stone 
roads, or when driven "to town." It will not take much calcula- 
tion to show what one set for each farm horse will save. 



Every one knows the annoyance and often actual loss in not 

No More being able to use a horse on icy roads, unless rough-shod. The 

Waiting. rush at the blacksmith shop often means a day's wait for your 

horse's turn to be "rough-shod." Perhaps the next day the thaw 



30 



sets in, ami in a day or two the shoes are dull again, then comes 
another cold spell with another expense of rough-shoeing. 



With a set of SHAIFFBR NAILLESS HORSESHOES 
yau can curtail all of this expense by simply having an extra set 
of sharp calks, which your stable boy can insert in a few minutes 
and take them out also, replacing them with flat calks whenever a 
thaw sets in. When the sharp calks become dull, others can be 
purchased at a very low figure. This whole process is as con- 
venient as it would be changing from shoes to rubber boots when 
the weather requires. 



Think of the advantage to farmers and horse-owners living 
in isolated districts, miles away from any place where horseshoes 
can be obtained and possibly still further away from any horse- 
shoer. 



Easy to 

Insert 

and Remove 

Calks. 



Advantages 
to Farmers 
and Others 
Living Near 
Horseshoeing 
Shop. 



All horses in use must have some kind of a shoe to protect °L 

their hoofs, and it will pay every horse-owner to use the NAIL- Heavv Loads 
LESS HORSESHOES so as to relieve them of all pains and With Greater 
aches. Although they cannot express their gratitude for the Ease. 
humane change, they will show it by hauling heavy loads with 
greater ease, and will more intelligently and willingly perform 
that which is required of them. 



There can be no controversy but that the NAIL- 
LESS HORESHOE is the beginning of a new era for 
the horse and will be the beginning of better horses, and 
that every horse-owner will quickly realize the great ad- 
vantage of the horse which wears a shoe that requires no 
nails to attach it to the hoof, as over one that wears a 
nail-on shoe. 



New Era 
for the 
Horse. 



Up-To- 

We are accustomed to the necessity of steam and electric Date 
cars, electric lights, telephones, telegraph, and innumerable other Method, 
modern inventions. Farmers could now no longer get along with 
old-fashioned methods. The mowing machine has superseded 



3* 



the scythe; the self-binder the cradle, the trolley the stage coach. 
Think of the wonderful changes that have been made by these 
conception of the great good the SHAIFFBR NAILLBSS 
newer and better ways of doing things and you will have a partial 
HORSBSHOB will do both man and beast, for it is just as sure 
to take the place of the present crude method of the nail-on shoe 
as the electric light has taken the place of the candle. 



THE FOLLOWING IS A STORY OF HOW THE NAILLESS 
HORSESHOE WAS INVENTED AS TOLD BY THE INVENTOR. 
When I was in Leadville, Colo., in the early eighties, I first con- 
ceived the idea of inventing a horseshoe without nails. 

A friend of mine owned a large horse-shoeing shop, employing 
about forty horseshoers, working night and day, which was necessary 
in those years, as at that time there was no way of getting goods into 
Leadville other than by "freighting" with horses and mules, from 
Denver, Cheyenne and Colorado Springs. Many horses and mules 
were used constantly for this purpose. 

One day while I was in the shop talking to the proprietor John 
Quinn, a man brought a valuable horse in and asked if he could nail 
a couple of shoes on his front hoofs and guarantee them to stay on, 
for at least a short period. Quinn made an examination of the front 
hoofs and saw that both of them were split badly, having been pre- 
viously entangled in a barbed wire fence. Quinn said that he could 
not drive a nail into its hoofs while they were in that condition. The 
man replied, saying: "I will give you $100 if you will shoe that 
horse in any way — so that I can travel him on the mountain roads. 
I don't care how you do it." 

The offer was an attractive one and after a moment's hesita- 
tion, Quinn turned to me and said: "Shaiffer, can't you invent some 
way to attach shoes to that horse's hoof and make $100 between us?" 

Instantly it occurred to me that by attaching a flange to the 
ordinary style of shoe and by using small screws, we might be able 
to securely attach the shoes to the hoofs. 

There were many dead horses lying all over Leadville, so I re- 
moved the hoofs from several of them so as to judge the thickness of 
the horny substance so as to enable me to calculate the length of the 
screws required to be inserted, without injury to the foot itself. I 
then proceeded to attach the shoes with very high flanges made from 
■copper to that live horse's hoofs, using quite a number of screws, 1-4 



32 



of an inch apart. After considerable labor we succeeded in shoeing 
the horse satisfactorily to its owner and received the $100. 

I saw the need at once of a Nailless Horseshoe. Instances were 
of daily occurrence where a shoe could not be attached to a hoof by 
nailing it on, and many valuable animals were either turned loose or 
killed, as in the rocky mountains no horse can travel any distance 
without shoes unless in very exceptional cases. Screwing on a 
shoe to the hoof, as we did with that horse, is very dangerous, tedious 
and so costly that it can only be done in rare cases. Moreover, it 
ruins the horse's hoofs beside, it will not last for any length of time. 

I spent a great deal of time studying the anatomy of the horse's 
hoof and in my studies I had read of the methods employed by the 
ancient Greeks and Romans, Japanese and Chinese, securing shoes 
to their horses' hoofs with bamboo, rice straw or raw-hide. Along 
these lines my thoughts were centred. 

Later on while I was traveling through South America, on horse- 
back, from Rio de Jeneiro, through the various South American Re- 
publics, my horse frequently lost a shoe, and as the roads and trails 
through South America are of a hard granite formation, when a horse 
casts its shoe it had to be abandoned, unless the shoe could be at- 
tached to the hoof immediately. A very short travel without a shoe 
on the hoof would completely ruin the horse, laming him indefinitely. 

On my return to the United "States, and while traveling in the 
mountains, I met freighters, prospectors and miners every day, some 
having one or two horses that had cast a shoe, and to help them out, 
I replaced the shoe temporarily by using part of a gunny sack and 
wire, placing the wire through the nail holes in the shoe and wrap- 
ping the gunny sack around the hoof and the fetlock, then twisting the 
wire around the hoof from different angles. The gunny sack pre- 
vented the wire cutting into the fetlock. As these freighters met 
others along the route, they drew their attention to this temporary 
mrfde of replacing the cast shoe and I found later that it became a 
custom with most all freighters and mountain travelers. 

It is a well-known fact that all freighters on mountain roads 
must carry their feed for the horses and mules, such as baled hay, 
oats or shell corn, and this is where they obtained gunny sacks and 
wire for the purpose mentioned. 

I was oftentimes compelled to tie shoes to my horse's hoofs 
with wire ; although a little tedious, I made a very successful job of it. 
It always served my purpose splendidly and I frequently traveled 
hundreds of miles with shoes held in place by wire and found that he 
traveled farther and held up better than when shoes were nailed to 
his hoofs. Many a time I had all the four hoofs shod in this manner. 

33 



a 



I attributed it to the fact that normal expansion and contrac- 
tion was able to take place. 

This temporary method was so satisfactory that upon my return 
to the United States I resolved to perfect some permanent arrange- 
ment of attaching shoes to the hoofs of horses without the use of nails. 
I established a chain of horse-shoeing shops in a number of western 
towns and there I had ample opportunity to experiment on hundreds 
of hoofs. 

I met with considerable discouragement. Many people who saw 
my experiment insisting that I could no more invent a Nailless Horse- 
shoe than I could solve the problem of Perpetual Motion. I acquired 
the reputation as a crank, a visionary, and many other epithets not at 
all complimentary, but I avoided trouble and stuck to it — just as every 
man must do who wants to succeed in an undertaking. Foundry men 
told me repeatedly that the shoe could not be made by casting in sand 
successfully. 



So it devolved upon me to make the first sand mould for the shoe 
which was done successfully, and all future doubts on that point were 
swept away. I paid considerably over $50 for the casting and making 
of one shoe, this on several occasions. I expended $3500 for a set 
or dies to make the shoes from drop forgings as also to expedite the 
making of them in large quantities, and after waiting almost a year for 
the dies to be finished and after -one or two shoes were forged out 
I abandoned the dies as the castings were too heavy and the cost 
of finishing too great. 

In all these eighteen years I have never experienced a moment 
of discouragement although I expended from my own private fortune 
over $1 00 000.00 in perfecting the Nailless Horspshoe. and I now feel 
that th° time and monev were not spent wrono-ly. as it is now pt^R. 
FECTED. Some of the men who tried most to discoumo-e me have 
kent in touch with me all these vears and thev were the fir=+, to whom 
T sent shoes for trial. For the last seve^il vear<s thev have been 
using tV>em on their horses and p°n't o*" 7 enough »*» their f^vor. 

T adrrp't that I have often tijn°s Tioen n"iV70(i Tw the ln^u who 
savp Tie is from Missouri Twt. h^vino- the nualrtv of +T>e Tpvion the 
"stiYVtoitiveness." and knowing- full well that i+ is ">n+ m rnnph in 
catchino- on. but gettino- a fli-m o-rin ano 1 hold on +h*+ mnVpq a <!n<*<*ess 
of evervthinp-. so T lull fhpir r> e rv<= to rest bv te^'no- them the story 
of the first ra ; lroad. as follows: 

When the steam locomotive was invented and it was proposed to 
build the lines throughout England, the matter came before Par- 

34 



liament. Very few of the members believed it would succeed, and 
the inventors were called "fools," "visionaries," etc. One of the 
members of Parliament wrote a lengthy essay on the subject and he 
absolutely proved (on paper) that aheavy body on wheels, if put upon 
tracks, would remain stationery, while the wheels would 
simply buzz around on the rails. Nevertheless, when the tracks were 
laid, and the cars put upon them, and the wheels began to revolve, lo 
and behold, the cars DID move, and traffic by means of steam loco- 
motion was a success. 



So it doesn't always do to demonstrate an invention as 
impossible— simply on paper. Both the locomotive and the 
NAILLESS HORSESHOE are PERFECTED today and both 
are meeting the wants of thousands of people and horses 
throughout the land. It all goes to show that a certain amount 
of opposition is often a great help, "as all kites rise better 
against the wind than with it." 



In 1890 the horse census of the world showed a horse popu- 
lation of 68,000,000. Europe, 37,000,000 ; Asia, 4,500,000 ; Africa, 

1,060,000; Australia, 2,000,000; United States, 23,000,000. 

Equine 

Census 
In 191 1, the equine population of the world was 114,200,000. 1390 an( j 



Canada, 24,000,000; Central America, 28,000,000; South America, 
10,000,000; Austria-Hungary, 4,200,000; European and Russia, 
23,600.000; United States, nearly 36,000,000, including horses and 
mules in cities and towns. 



1911. 



Burns 0. Severson, a member of the University of Wisconsin, 
describes the progress of the horse through history, always serving 
his master — Man. The most valuable agricultural product in the Equine 
United States today is the horse. According to the United States Valuation. 
Bureau of Statistics we have in this country 36,000,000 horses and 
mules with an estimated value of $4,525,000,000. This is $1,025,000 000 
more in value than all our cattle, sheep and hogs combined, or $750,- 
000,000 more than our annual crops of corn, wheat, oats, barley and 
rye. In view of this enormous value it may be of interest to consider 
the development and influence of this most domesticated of animals. 
One is amazed at the close association of the horse with the history 
of our country. Columbus on his second voyage introduced it into 
the West Indies. De Soto, on his journey to the Mississippi, brought 
the Spanish horse. These animals abandoned by De Soto are the 
progenitors of the wild horses of the Southwest. The horse was also 



35 



imported with the founding of the colonies. From these ancestors 
have developed the countless numbers in our land today. 



Increase 
in Ten 
Years. 



The increase in the horse population in the last ten years is 
over 10,000,000 horses having an estimated value of over 
$1,000,000,000. 



Authority 
Quoted. 



Dr. Alexander, of the University of Wisconsin, one of 
America's greatest authorities on the horse, under whose guid- 
ance Wisconsin has been the first state to assume the control 
of horse breeding, and who was instrumental in having a bill 
passed by the Legislature in 1905 that an enrollment of all 
sires by the college of agriculture a requirement of law — the 
law has already had a satisfactory effect in Wisconsin, and 
has formed the basis of similar laws enacted in some sixteen 
other states — says: "Some people say the automobile will 
drive the horse out of existence and that for agricultural pur- 
poses other forms of motive power will be used. The automo- 
bile truck has not proven a perfect practical success on the 
streets of our great cities. Imagine for a moment the com- 
mercial centers of this nation to be cut off from the horse for 
merely a day. Think of the millions of tons of freight and 
baggage that would be delayed. To the average farmer the 
horse will remain the cheapest and most efficient motor power, 
for the reason that the horse is an every-ready and proficient 
worker in all the exigencies of farm life." 



Automobile 
Necessary to 
Help the 
Horse. 



The fact that the automobile and bicycle is in existence to- 
day or will increase to-morrow does not indicate that the horse 
is gradually becoming extinct or a thing of the past ; far from it. 
Were there no automobiles or bicycles, at the present rate of the 
increase in population both in business and agriculture, we would 
not have near a sufficient number of horses to supply the demand 
even for city purposes, as every year there are thousands of new 
businesses starting up, all of which require horses to assist in 
them. The fact would be a greater scarcity in horses than there 
are to-day and a good horse would bring a price almost that of 
an automobile. Every year there are thousands upon thousands 
of acres of land taken up by the younger generation, employing 
thousands upon thousands of workmen to assist them in its culti- 
vation. This land is tilled to raise breadstuffs for the ever-increas- 



36 



ing population, which is dependent upon farm products for their 
substance. 



Wherever the automobile is predominant, the horse has 
been taken to the agricultural section. The facts are that 
horses are at a low ebb compared to the rate of increase 
in the human population in the United States and else- 
where, and many more are needed to supply the demand, 
but their production is not sufficient to fill the require- 
ments. Hence the prices of horses have advanced and 
are much higher today than ever before. Besides the 
horses used in the tilling of land, there are also over 
1,000,000 yoke of oxen. 



Oxen 
Used. 



This would indicate that the horse is safe. There is no con- 
troversy but that he is safe and will remain king to the end of 
time. Instead of a horseless age, as some would have us believe, 
there is a continual cry for ageless horses each year. There has 
been an increase in factories to manufacture more horseshoes, 
horseshoe pads and NAILLESS HORSESHOES, all of which 
is proof that the popularity of the horse is not on the decrease, 
but on the increase. 



The Horse 
Is Safe. 



Railroads, business houses, every new form of farm machin- 
ery, demand the use of more horses to do the increasing work. 
To supply the requirements of increasing business for the increas- 
ing population, the automobiles and all forms of traction vehicles 
are necessary to help the horse out. Ye prophesiers of the horse- 
less age, "laugh,"' but do it quietly, and remember, "He laughs best 
who laughs last," as statistics herein decide who can laugh the 
loudest, heartiest and longest. When the horse is banished from 
the farm and from the streets of our cities, the great volume of 
business must cease and all activity will come to a standstill and 
the millions of freight trains will be nothing but junk, rusting on 
the sidetracks, as the Millennium will then be here. 



No 

Horseless 

Age. 



Much sympathy should be shown the blind man, the crippled 
person, the unfortunate, in the sense that the majority consider 

37 



Horse 

vs. 

Automobile. 



unfortunate. But the heart bleeds and every fibre in the body- 
should ache in sympathy for the man who says that the automo- 
bile will drive out the horse. There is a vast difference between 
animate and inanimate substance. The same dividing line as 
there is between the living and the dead, between the strenuous, 
determined and always to be relied upon, never-give-up spirit of 
the horse, which elicits a wonderful, almost superhuman feeling 
of esteem, and the inanimate automobile, which, in comparison 
to the horse, is simply a toy. For instance, take a clock made by 
the most prominent artisan, handed down for many generations, 
after its many mechanical parts are worn out and it stops forever, 
you will not hear the slightest murmur of regret from the owner. 
It is thrown away into the rubbish heap and never more thought 
of. Yet, when a faithful horse dies there is lamenting and dis- 
tress in that same household as if the animal were a spiritual kin 
to them. 



No Horses 

Out of 
Commission 

Until the 

End of Time. 



Neither the steam engine or the trolley car, nor the 
automobile, except in their particular vocation, have put 
any horses out of commission ; nor will they to the end of 
time. As the steam engine, the trolley car and the auto- 
mobiles are merely the inanimate slave to the horse, 
assisting him as the population and the acquirements of 
the human increase. 



To 

Develop 

Horse's 

Latent 

Power. 



Every man and woman possesses a latent power, that can 
be developed if they are not physically incapacitated. It is true 
of the horse as well, his latent power lies dormant but can be 
developed if he is restored to his natural condition of health, 
but so long as it continues his latent power cannot be developed. 
But if we abolish the method of driving nails into his hoofs it 
will be astonishing how easily his latent power can be developed 
and how quickly his earning capacity will be increased, then his 
value cannot be' over-estimated, and he will thrive, do more work 
and do it more easily. Consequently he will be able to earn more 
for his owner, hence, increase in value. 



38 



THE HORSE AND THE AUTO. 

One day a horse saw an automobile, 

Stuck deep in the mud with a broken wheel, 

As he approached he heaved a sigh, 

And was greatly startled on hearing the cry; 

"Say, friend horse, will you help me out?" 

The horse replied: "Without a doubt, 

I'll help you out if you will say 

That I'm the master here today." 

The auto replied: "I'll surely say 

As swiftly journeying on my way, 

The same old story will be told 

That you are worth your weight in gold." 

The horse pulled out the automobile, 

Stuck deep in the mud with its broken wheel, 

And as he started on his way, 

Unto the auto he thus did say: 

"Dear friend auto, pray tell your boss, 

A motor car is not worth a hoss, 

You can't move when you get stuck 

Without my help as you haven't the pluck, 

I never get stuck out on the road, 

I'm always sure to deliver my load. 

The reason I help you plainly see, # 

Because I need your help for me. 

If my owner gets sick on any day, 

I take him home as I know the way. 

If your's gets sick, you're in suspense 

And must lay on the road in ditch or fence, 

In speeding along, on plain or hill, 

Your precious cargo ofttimes you kill. 

Airships and autos are all of them dross 

Compared in value to a good old hoss. 



39 



The 
Colt 

Important 
Beginning. 



A noted stockman said: "I don't know how I ever got along be- 
fore I began using the Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoes on my horses. I 
do not know what I would do if I could not get them, as they have 
been a great advantage to me and I am sure to the horses also; they 
have saved me much time and money and my horses are all doing 
better in many ways. They do not show any fatigue as they formerly 
did when I had them shod with the nail-on-shoe, beside; I have never 
had any of them go lame, as was frequently the case when I had 
them shod with nail-on-shoes. The Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoes serve 
not only all purposes of the grown horse but of the colt as w ell, t hat 
have never had a nail driven into its hoofs, which is the important 
beginning. I was astonished to notice how rapidly my horses took on 
flesh and how much better they did in many ways. In fact they are 
all greatly changed since I abolished the driving of nails into the 
hoof. The first time I saw the Shaiffer Shoe I said it was the shoe we 
horsemen had hoped for. I did not seek the opinion of anyone as the 
simplicity and arrangement of the shoe immediately impressed upon 
my mind its usefulness and value. I believe, as all intelligent men 
should, that with its introduction it will be the beginning of a new era 
for the horse. I have often said since I have been using the shoes, 
and I repeat, that the Shaiffer Nailless Horseshoe is the only kind of 
shoe that should be used on a horse and no matter what the price is, 
they are the cheapest in the long run, and every person owning a 
horse should use them on their horses and stop driving nails into their 
hoofs as I have done." 



He saw what the scientific world has long expected, 
a simple, practical NAILLBSS HORSESHOE. Consid. 
ering its humane principles alone, it is of immense im- 
portance* From the view of economy, much time and 
money can be saved, in fact, when its true value is fully 
realized, it will rightly be termed "THE WORLD'S 
EIGHTH WONDER." 



The higher and greater spiritual education we possess, the 
greater sympathy we show towards dumb animals, and we are 
blessed accordingly. The savage is devoid of sympathy, hence 
we do not ask that he reflects in sympathy's cause. 



Observe a horse standing idle; how he shifts from one foot 
to the other ; he throws one foot out and rests on the other, 



40 



Observe how he turns his head to one side, his expression seems 
to imply that he is in agony. When it dawns upon you that his 
actions are caused from pain due to the nails that are driven into Pity. 
his hoofs, have you no sympathy for him? Every horse-owner 
ought to realize that there is an esteemable debt due to their horse, 
and should take every opportunity of repaying him for the great 
service he is rendering from day to day. They should be the first 
to assist in the conservation of the horse, by immediately abolish- 
ing the method of nailing on shoes, and equip him with NAIL- 
LESS HORSESHOES to protect his hoofs from injury. 

There are many things which we cannot do, many which we 
do not even attempt, but we are doing all we can to induce the 
horse owner to contribute his little mite towards the comfort of 
his friend, the horse. We are importuning the horse-lover to 
adopt what we have long been advocating, the shoeing of horses 
by a rational, human, scientific and up-to-date method, with -^ 
NAILLESS HORSESHOES. We deride the stingy owner, we Recommend 
abuse the brutal driver, we pity the non-believer, we appeal to Nailless 
every intelligent man and woman to assist us in revolutionizing to all. 
the present mode of horse-shoeing by recommending a NAIL- 
LESS HORSESHOE, no matter what design or make, because 
it is the only way that horses should be shod. We appeal to 
every Humane Society throughout the world, which is doing 
noble work towards lessening abuse of the animal, to contribute 
their influence towards establishing laws to abolish attaching shoes 
to the horse's hoof by means of nails. If the situation is thor- 
oughly analyzed, the idea will suggest itself to the mind for this 
change, and good results are sure to be obtained. 

Driving nails into their hoofs is bad shoeing, and is the be- 
ginning of making a vicious horse. A vicious horse sometimes 
makes a brutal driver, and also makes a brutal driver more brutal. 
Horses shod with NAILLESS HORSESHOES will eliminate 
the cruel and brutal driver, as he will have no excuse to treat his 
horse badly. Large express companies in the United States and 
abroad claim that "bad shoeing" is the cause of horses slipping 
and falling, by which nine-tenths of their injuries result. 

Authority says: Eliminate pricking, burning and cutting 
away of the vital part of the hoof and ninety per cent, of horses 
will be able to do more work than formerly, and, besides, it will 
be encouraging to the horse because his labor is robbed of the 
most tedious and miserable feature, and his owner will get out 
of him a great deal more. 

4* 



Sixty per cent, of the horses have had their hoofs cut away 
by some so-called horseshoer, so that they are hardly able to 
travel. Horses weighing 1200 to 1400 pounds ought to have a 
Shun hoof measuring from 6 to 7 inches across the centre, and from 

a 7/^2 to 83/2 from toe to heel, but one can see every moment in 

Bungler. the. day in any large city thousands of horses of the above men- 

tioned weights with their hoofs trimmed down to 3^ to 5 inches 
across the centre and 4 to 5 inches from toe to heel. Why should 
this be allowed in this civilized age, where so much is being done 
in other respects. Shun the smith who cuts your horse's hoof 
away, as he has no more knowledge in regard to the anatomy of 
Lhe horse's hoof than he has of the inhabitants on the planet Mars. 

The person that treats his horse kindly and approves and 
uses every humane method of care for him, is surely a practical 
humanitarian, and his public and private life must be exemplary, 
as helping the defenseless, be they human or brute, is a divine 
command, therefore a practical religion. "It goes without say- 
ing" the humane man is good to dumb animals and is always on 
the lookout for something that will benefit them. The humane 
person requires no argument to be convinced that it is wrong, 
absolutely wrong to apply any kind of a shoe to a horse's hoof 
by means of nails, and that it is right, absolutely right, to shoe 
horses with serviceable shoes that require no nails to attach them 
to the hoof. 



The subject of NAILLBSS HORSESHOES ought 
to be of special interest to every horse owner. The com- 
fort of the horse ought to be his first thoughts, for per- 
haps tomorrow his horse may be crippled or have con- 
tracted a disease which unfits him for use, or worst of all, 
to die with lockjaw, all of which are brought on by the 
effects of nails driven into his hoof. 



Who will deny that the horse is an essential business partner 
to his owner, and no man in business of any consequence can get 
along without him ; in fact, there is hardly any business nowadays 
that does not require the horse's assistance. 



42 



Nine-tenths of every business is composed of 75 per 
cent, horse and 25 per cent. man. There is no contro- 
versy but that this is absolutely true of farming, and 
every farmer ought to be the first to take steps to do 
away with the driving of nails into the horse's hoof, so 
as to have better horses and better service. Strictly 
speaking, every person who can afford a horse can afford 
every up-to-date device for its protection and especially 
he can afford to shoe him with the most perfect shoes 
without nails, the SHAIFFBR NAILLBSS HORSE- 
SHOE. 



No one is asked to lay down their life for the horse, though 
many a horse's life has been sacrificed for human greed, to pro- 
vide the horse with the vital necessities for his comfort is a small 
act of kindness which we owe him for his life of usefulness and 
faithfulness. Treat your horse well and you will leave a lasting 
impression upon the community, you will leave a greater monu- 
ment than any ever erected over a Czar, signifying a perpetual 
reputation of a qualified humanitarian; then the great Creator 
who saw fit to create both man and beast, one for the other, will 
at last pronounce the benediction, "Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant, thou hast indeed been kind to the dumb as I 
would have thee, and your reward shall be much. Amen." 

The condition of the hoofs of the majority of horses in cities 
and towns are appalling, having been burnt, rasped and cut away 
until they are about two-thirds of their natural size. How can 
it be expected that the horse can do a proper day's work in his 
crippled condition. Ye learned veterinarians, who make your 
claims of having been reared and fostered in the sanctum sanc- 
torum of some noted Alma Mater, in this or some other country, 
what has your learning profited you? Where is your pride, 
where is your wisdom, where is your humanity? Does not the 
constant misery which the horse is suffering day by day, which 
you can plainly see if you stop long enough to observe him, 
awaken you to a sense of your duty? Can you sit contented by 
your own hearth knowing that inhuman and unscientific methods 
are being employed hourly, daily and yearly sapping the founda- 
tion of the health of the horse, and which if allowed to continue 
much longer will be the means of his utter annihilation? Why 
is it that you do not take steps for his conservation by making 
efforts to stop this known cruelty in the name of humanity? 
Isn't it strange that all your learning has not given you ere this 
a wisdom's mark? 'Tis true that you have been told much, yet 
you have profited so little by it. 

43 



Horse 

Owners 

Are 

Awaking. 



Horseshoers 

Are 

Approving. 



Your learning is naught but a bit of rot, 

Your genius just the same. 
Humanity less your wisdom is not 

The kind to win you fame. 

You are asked to appeal to the reasoning faculty of the horse 
owner, in which you come in contact with, in your service to the 
horse and interest them in adopting means and devices of attach- 
ing horseshoes to the horses' hoofs without driving nails into 
them. 

Sad, very sad, that the horse-owner and horse-lover do not 
demand a more common sense method than the one in vogue, 
that of nailing shoes to the horse's hoof which they know in their 
own mind is wrong. You are appealed to, to make a determined 
stand and assist in enacting laws to stop this modern barbarism. 

The idea of shoeing horses without nails has never been claim, 
ed to be impossible in a literal sense, but owing to a lack of dis- 
interestedness, there has been a delay, but now that it has been 
accomplished it will fastly take the place of the nail-on-shoe, be- 
cause of its vastly humane principle and its tremendous economical 
saving. It will rapidly gain a worldwide reputation of being the 
essential means toward better horses. 

Discussing the need of an efficient, humane and proper shoe 
for horses, that can easily and readily be attached to the hoof with- 
out driving nails into it, within the reach of every person who 
owns a horse — in fact, as popular as the horse itself. A promi- 
nent veterinarian said : "The horse owners and horse lovers are 
gradually becoming aroused to the defects of the method in vogue 
of shoeing horses by driving nails into their hoofs. The public is 
also beginning to see at last how it is possible to conserve the 
horse. They demand that the barbarous treatment of driving nails 
into a live and growing substance be done away with altogether, 
hence it is assisting to arouse the horse owner to realize the defects 
of the old method — methods that impose upon not only the horse, 
but its owner and which has been the cause of decimating the 
horse the world over — as no appreciable efforts were made to 
improve the shoeing methods within the last fifty years." 

The rapid progress of the SHAIFFER NAILLBSS 
HORSESHOE — its remarkable simplicity, convenience and econ- 
omy has proved as startling to the old-time horseshoer, as it is 
gratifying to the horse owners now enjoying the advantages of 
this humanitarian device. A few years ago when it was declared 
that within a short period that the horse owner would soon be 
awakened to a realization that the horse would be much benefited 
by wearing the NAILLESS HORSESHOE— the old-time horse- 
shoers ridiculed the statement. But, few years has hardly passed 



44 



around, when the SHAIPFER NAILLESS HORSESHOE has 
gone far beyond expectation — and the old-time horseshoers that 
scoffed most at it then sees day by day NAILLESS HORSE- 
SHOES gradually becoming in demand. 

It will be necessary for the manufacturers of NAILLESS 
HORSESHOES to extend their plant to supply the large demand 
which is daily growing, because the shoe is becoming popular with 
the horse owner and with the public in general, which is a sure 
indication that it is in favor of Nailless Horseshoes and will be 
at all times. 

This demand of the general humane public is merely the be- 
ginning and presages that the progress of Nailless Horseshoes is 
an assured thing, as the public is becoming thoroughly aroused to 
the value of them as an incomparable device. Horse owners and 
horse lovers are now more earnestly and actively expressing their 
opinion of the benefits and comforts of the Nailless Horseshoe — 
which has so splendidly demonstrated its humane and economical 
importance. 

Several years ago it was fairly easy for the old-time horse- 
shoers and the non-progressive persons to create prejudice and 
interpose obstacles, for then the horse owner and the horse driver 
did not really know what the Nailless Horseshoe was and could 
do, but they were willing to be shown. 

Now as they have seen for themselves they understand and 
appreciate and are acting from humanitarian interest and are 
recommending horse owners to adopt the NAILLESS plan of 
shoeing horses. The opposition by various persons representing 
class interests through curious tactics have prevented the NAIL- 
LESS HORSESHOE from gaining a firm foothold in its in- 
ception. But in spite of this and the friends of the old bar- 
barous system of shoeing the horse, the NAILLESS HORSE- 
SHOE manufacturers have gone along serenely and quietly with- 
out fear or favor of any objectionable combination, laying its 
plans and foundation for one of the largest businesses in the 
world, and this is being done in the face of all opposition when 
many selfish interests have essayed to hinder its progress, and 
today has accomplished its purpose and has gained many thou 
sand believers in this remarkable new way of shoeing horses. 

Public-spirited citizens are beginning to realize the opposi- 
tion to the NAILLESS HORSESHOE, as the inspiration of 
greed working against humane interest and benefits of the most 
popular, interesting and beneficial animal to mankind — that is 
why the humane spirit is being aroused by the public and why 
they are throwing their influence on the side of a better mode 
of horseshoeing and why they are aiding in the dissemination of 
the NAILLESS HORSESHOE by voicing its humanitarian prin- 
ciple. 

45 



Manufacturers 
Defeat 
Curious 
Tactics. 



Humane 
Principle 
Popular. 



Independent 

of 

Horseshoer. 



Constant 
Driving 
Nails 
Bad for 
Kace Horses. 



The manufacturers of the Nailless Horseshoes is thereby 
enabled to win the good will of many horseshoers who were bias 
and opposed to the shoe in the beginning, and by whom they can 
hasten its adoption in many villages and settlements throughout 
the country. 

THE NAILLESS HORSESHOE has the most remarkable 
advantage over the old method, as by its use any kind of a lame 
horse can be shod without detriment to the hoof or to the horse 
in general. It is little trouble to adjust the shoe to any kind of a 
hoof, by man, woman or child, in a few moments' time; therefore, 
its economic principle of saving time, brawn and strength will be 
recognized by all who have occasion to see and use them on their 
horses, and besides the horse owner and horse driver will be 
entirely independent of the so-called horseshoer that is, the man 
who.burns the hoof, cuts and files it away and drives the nail 
into a live and growing substance, a thing which should never have 
been permitted in the beginning, but being once started was hard 
to break away from, on account of there being no other method 
in vogue instead of the evil. 

Utilizing this independent privilege of applying the shoe to 
the horse's hoof and removing the same at any time you see fit 
or whenever it is expedient to do so — the building" up of the horse 
from a lame and aching beast to that of a natural one gives to the 
horse owner a service inestimable, and especially will this system 
of shoeing be advantageous to the owner of race horses who do 
not want their high-priced animals crippled by driving nails into 
their hoofs, as by the constant reshoeing of their horses almost 
every hour of the day by that barbarous and clumsy method, 
shortens its life and increases its misery, hence, the horse owner 
is quickly awakening and is finding out what advantage the 
NAILLESS HORSESHOE is and is eager to have it take the 
place of the defective and expensive mode of driving nails into 
the hoof. 

In introducing the NAILLESS HORSESHOE several years 
ago it was also necessary to count on the men from Texas, or in 
other words, where conditions were most favorable, in commu- 
nities where people were vastly humane and who were ever ready 
to recognize its use and benefit to the horse, these people know 
well its good points and have voiced its humane and economical 
service ever since. 

The more the horse owner uses the Nailless, the less pa- 
tience has he with the waiting, expensive and defective method 
now in use, and the more eager is he to have this economical, 
humane shoe in general service among all owners of horses. 
Many horse owners and horse levers north, south, east and west, 
have written the inventor of the Nailless Horseshoes that they are 
ready to welcome the NAILLESS, that he can count on their 
c upport when they go their way. they know that there is a wide 
field to supply and await its coming impatiently. 



The widespread desire by the horse owner is as- 
serting itself — they are awakening to the wrong that 
has been done to the horse and the necessity of a NAIL- 
LESS SHOE that can be put on and taken off whenever 
it is necessary without any labor or any special tool. The 
splendid indorsements of many who have used it in the 
past have given much energy to a popular sentiment. 
The progressive moment of the NAILLESS HORSE- 
SHOE is at hand, this is specially indicative by the en- 
thusiasm anions; horse owners and their friends. 



We plan to start a chain of shops so as to meet all the re- 
quirements of our customers where our Nailless Horseshoes will 
be attached to the hoof by skilled horseshoers and see that the Plan 
horse's hoof is properly taken care of. Special arrangements will ^ Q 
be made with horseshoers wishing to handle our shoe and help in „ t 
its adoption by attaching all shoes purchased by their customers **' 

free of charge, thus making them and us independent of the 
manufacturers of the nail-on-shoe. 

Few can understand the many obstacles and prejudice which 
the manufacturers of the Nailless horseshoe had to contend with 
in introducing the shoe to the public. But they have gained the 
confidence in these few years of the general humane person and 
hope to continue in gaining confidence of others until the tocsin 
is sounded to the north, south, east and west, until at last the 
Nailless Horseshoe is used on every horse in the land. 

Mr. Alfonso Wilson, a large plantation owner in Mississippi, p em ^ hi 
writes thus: "Knowing that the hardest work in establishing a e 

great and new invention and especially a humanitarian one as the • L,etter 
Nailless Horseshoe is in getting a satisfactory start, yet I believe °* 
as each year closes that you will have won many horse owners Advice 
and horse lovers to the idea of shoeing horses with shoes that from 
require no nails to attach them to the hoofs. I have every rea- a 
son to believe that when once you get your commercial stride « .« 
that the demand for Nailless Horseshoes will increase a thousand 
fold each year. I predict that within a few years millions of 
horses will be wearing Nailless Horseshoes because I know from 
practical experience there is only one way of attaching a shoe to 
the hoof of a horse that is right, and that is without nails and by 
the principle that composes the SHAIFFER invention." Many 
have seen the Nailless Horseshoes on my horses and everybody 
here in the South who has seen them thinks well of it and are 
anxious to see it prove a perfect success. I believe our Govern- 
ment ought to make the patents perpetual when perfected beyond 
further improvement. You ought to plan to establish distribut- 
ing agencies throughout the entire country ? j have energetic 
hustlers to invade the enemy's camp by building breastworks if 
need be, every foot of the way, until you have routed the old, in- 
human, barbarous way of shoeing horses by driving nails into 



their hoofs. You should establish agencies on every firing line 
that you can get a foothold on because the Nailless Horseshoe is 
remarkably convenient and its humane principle as well as its 
economical saving will greatly increase it's popular and general 
use, as the matter of maintenance will be inexpensive and there 
will be a saving of time and a saving of a good horse as well, and 
again, your uniform price to all consumers of the shoe is a great 
thing just as the Government has a uniform rate of postage for 
all parts of the country. Remember that every important inven- 
tion has been made a success only by hard struggle, so stick to the 
task, but I believe your task is over and you have won the race. 
Do not desist in spreading broadcast the message that the Nail- 
less Horseshoe has been devised and is manufactured, but do so 
in clear and simple word so that both he who studies and he who 
runs may read and understand and be convinced. 



ADDITION TO THE HORSE'S PRAYER. 

Now, O my Master, after all I have asked 
of thee, I shall forego all these things, if you 
will only provide me with SUITABLE FOOT- 
WEAR to protect my feet from injury without 
driving nails into them. 

Seemingly, I am well, yet it is not so; for 
in my mute misery, I cannot convey to thee 
the excruciating pain which pervades me, and 
the continual suffering I am compelled to en- 
dure at all time due entirely to the sinful mode 
of shoeing my feet. 

If I am lax in performing the duties re- 
quired of me, it is entirely due to the ailments 
of my body, caused by the cruel method of in- 
cessantly burning, rasping and driving nails 
into my hoofs. 

Again I ask of thee; please, Master, pro- 
vide me with shoes convenient for me, abolish 
the barbarous, cruel and diabolical method of 
driving nails into my hoofs, then, all the ail- 
ments which I am subject to, and the mute 
suffering which I have endured and all forms 
of diseases which have been my lot in the past, 
will be no more. 

Then, I shall ve your purpose better, as 
my life will be of c<. mrative comfort, and, the 
great Creator, who i) . s designed me for your 
will and pleasure, will ^ward you accordingly. 





Opportunity 


is like a 


wild horse that 


can only 


be mounted on 


a jump. 


Get your foot in 


the stir- 


rup and then you' 


re master 


of the situation. 


:-: :-: 




V 









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




002 863 794 9 




J\ good horse or a good mule is the 
backbone of every farm and every business, 
the better the horse, the better the farm and the 
better the business, but how are we going to 
have good horses without good shoeing, — how 
are we going to have good shoeing unless by 
abolishing the crude and inhuman method of 
driving nails into the horse's hoof and per- 
manently adopting the humane and pro- 
gressive method of attaching shoes to 
the horse's hoof that requires no 
nails to do so.— h. d. s. 



X 



•■OSbbi 



NATIONAL NAILLESS HORSESHOE CO. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 






